49ers Defensive Coordinator Candidates
49ers DC Robert Saleh has been hired as the Head Coach of the Tennessee Titans. Who should the 49ers select as his replacement?
Robert Saleh was initially hired as the 49ers defensive coordinator in 2017, brought in by Kyle Shanahan in his first season. Saleh built up an elite defense by 2019, getting his name in HC talks, and lasted just one more season in San Francisco. His initial San Francisco tenure lasted from 2017-2020, before being hired as the head coach of the New York Jets.
Saleh took over a 2 win Jets team with a bottom 10 defense. He was fired 5 games into the 2024 season after a 2-3 start. His first season was fairly awful, with a rookie QB and a bad defense, just a 4 win team. The next two years the Jets won 7 games with a top 5 defense. Unfortunately for Saleh, he was fired, mostly due to not having a QB. The locker room and leadership seemed tumultuous, with the ownership being split and an owner being in London when firing Saleh. If you were paying attention to football during that time, you remember how wacky the end of Saleh's Jets tenure was. With Aaron Rodgers tearing his achilles, then trying to have a say in leadership, the firing of OC Matt LaFleur only to hire Nathaniel Hackett, trying to demote Hackett midseason, it was all a mess.
Tennessee has some peculiar, we'll say, ownership, with some head scratching decisions in the past. Their GM Mike Borgonzi has no prior relationship with Robert Saleh, They have a young QB in Cam Ward, who showed a lot in his rookie season. It will be interesting to see what Saleh does with his coaching staff. There aren't any obvious candidates on the current 49ers staff that Saleh can bring with him and offer a promotion, but it's likely he'll pick and choose. Saleh has over 20 years of NFL experience, with seven different stops. He has many connections to pick and choose his future Tennessee Titans coaching staff with. Good luck to him.
Now, onto the 49ers. What can they do at defensive coordinator?
I will present a list of candidates. Some of them may have an obvious connection to the 49ers, other may just be a desirable option. Let's hop into it.
Gus Bradley - San Francisco 49ers, Assistant Head Coach of the Defense
59 year old Gus Bradley was brought into the 49ers organization this past season and has twenty years of NFL coaching experience. He was the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars for four seasons(2013-2016). Additionally, Bradley has 12 years of experience as a defensive coordinator in Seattle(2009-12), Los Angeles(2017-20), Las Vegas(2021), and Indianapolis(2022-24). Bradley could even be considered Saleh's mentor, being the DC while Saleh was an assistant in Seattle and Jacksonville.
Gus Bradley runs the same scheme and already is familiar with the team, obviously. This should put him on the inside track for the DC job. Considering that Bradley was employed as a DC or HC for 16 consecutive years, you'd have to figure he had offers to be a defensive coordinator last offseason as well, right? This assumption leads me to believe Bradley wanted to step back, and he joined well run organization with a few familiar faces to do so. However, maybe this was his plan all along, as Robert Saleh being hired away is no surprise. But I do think there's a chance Bradley declines this role. I also think this is an obvious hire, with Bradley's experience, current title, and the timing of bringing him into the organization.
Raheem Morris - former Atlanta Falcons Head Coach
49 year old Raheem Morris was just fired after two years of being the Falcons head coach. Morris has been in the NFL since he was 26, becoming a HC in Tampa Bay early on, even before being a defensive coordinator. He actually didn't become a defensive coordinator until 2020, eight years after he was fired in Tampa. Morris has a major history with Kyle Shanahan, overlapping in multiple spots. They were assistants in Tampa(2004-05), Washington(2012-13), and Atlanta(2015-16) together.
Morris' schemes have varied over the years, but most recently in Atlanta he featured more of a 3-4 front, rather than the 49ers traditional 4-3, wide nine look. When the 49ers hired Steve Wilks in 2023, they forced him to adjust to their scheme and it went poorly. Morris isn't Wilks, however. I would feel confident in his ability to not only adapt to the 49ers preferred scheme, but to adapt to any talent they possess defensively. Morris is only 49 years old and, presuming his next stop goes well, may very well get another head coaching opportunity. It's far from a guarantee that the 49ers will get first dibs on Morris. He'll have his pick of the litter, but the 49ers odds increase considering his relationship with Kyle Shanahan. Also, when Morris was also a defensive assistant in Tampa, he overlapped with 49ers GM John Lynch's Hall of Fame career as a safety.
Jim Schwartz - Cleveland Browns Defensive Coordinator
We're starting to get a bit more far fetched. Schwartz is technically still under contract in Cleveland and has no prior history with either Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch, Gus Bradley, or anyone on the 49ers staff. The catch is that for one, Schwartz can likely leave Cleveland if he desires, regardless of contract. Particularly because Cleveland is currently without a HC, so there isn't much linking Schwartz to Cleveland at the moment. Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has stated his desire to keep Schwartz, who technically is a candidate for their HC opening, but ultimately it will be up to the new Browns coach, not the owner.
Schwartz has historically gotten incredible results out of his defense, which is why you will see his name brought up by every team that has a defensive coordinator opening. He's a pipe dream, but a dream is a dream. Schwartz's scheme is similar to the one run under Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco, but he does typically prefer man-to-man corners, which the 49ers do not really possess.
Brian Flores - Minnesota Vikings Defensive Coordinator
Another far fetched pipe dream, methinks. Flores is just 44 years old and has multiple head coach interviews this offseason. He was hired as the Dolphins HC with no playcalling experience on defense, and since his departure from Miami he has become one of the most highly regarded defensive coordinators in the NFL. Flores' contract is up in Minnesota, and he has also taken defensive coordinator interviews in addition to HC interviews. Flores definitely does not run a similar defensive scheme to San Francisco's recent history. He's definitively been more of a 3-4 guy. It allows him the flexibility of dropping those outside LBs into coverage. If Flores somehow ends up in SF, I would wholeheartedly trust him to maximize the likes of Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, regardless of base scheme. While I'd imagine if Flores continues to be a DC, he'd do so in Minnesota, he's not under contract! There's no reason the 49ers can request to interview the brilliant playcaller.
Other Candidates:
K.J. Wright, 49ers defensive assistant - Seattle's former Pro Bowl LB has been on the 49ers staff for two seasons now. I think he's likely a few steps away from DC, he's not even a position coach at the moment, but I think Wright is on his way. (I also wouldn't be surprised if Wright follows Robert Saleh to Tennessee to become a LB coach or non-playcalling DC).
Jim Leonhard, Broncos defensive pass game assistant - the 10 year NFL safety has been with Denver the last two seasons, after being the DC at his alma mater, University of Wisconsin-Madison. He's been a DC candidate this offseason, and while I find the match unlikely, if San Francisco wants to hire a young up and comer, Leonhard is on the list.
Jonathan Gannon, former Cardinals HC - Gannon has called good defenses in the past and has nearly 20 years of NFL experience. I find the pairing to not be a fit from an outside 'vibes' perspective, but it wouldn't be the wildest thing ever for the 49ers to hire an experienced DC that likely won't leave for a HC job.
Al Harris, Bears DB coach - The former All-Pro CB has been a defensive assistant for over a decade now, recently being the Dallas DB coach, and is now a DB coach and pass game coordinator in Chicago. He's gotten some buzz this cycle, likely due to the fact that each defense he touches produces a ridiculous amount of turnovers. There is no connection to the 49ers organization, however.
Aden Durde, Seahawks DC - Two things: Durde doesn't call plays in Seattle, so becoming a DC elsewhere to call plays is an upgrade. However, it is still technically possible for Seattle to block this move. Durde has been the DC in Seattle for the last two seasons, and is even getting HC interviews this cycle at 46 years old. He got his start in London, before boucning between Dallas and Atlanta as a defensive assistant, spending his last 3 years in Dallas as a DL coach. He did overlap with Kyle Shanahan in Atlanta for one season, but who knows the extent of their relationship.
Patrick Graham, Raiders DC - The Raiders future HC may retain Graham, a guy who has gotten HC interviews the last few years, and has lasted 3 regimes in Las Vegas. I think Graham's scheme would move flawlessly into SF. Again, I am not seeing a connection to the 49ers staff here.
Sean McDermott, former Bills HC - Will McDermott get another HC opportunity this offseason? I would assume, but maybe not this late in the cycle. A veteran name that may captivate the 49ers as they try to make a final effort at a Super Bowl run.
So there are a handful of names. Some random, some high profile, some 49ers employees, some with no connection whatsoever.
I truly have no clue which direction the 49ers and Kyle Shanahan want to move in. I assume they shoot for Raheem Morris, as will everyone else, and then resort to Gus Bradley. Another assumption, one that will have serious implications on the roster, is that the 49ers will want to hire someone that either:
A). Has ties to the organization
B). Will be around (somewhat) long-term
The 49ers have had 4 DCs in the last 4 seasons. It's about to be 5 in the last 5. Let's look at their last four drafts on the defensive side of the ball.
2025:
Mykel Williams (pick 11) - TBD
Alfred Collins (pick 43) - looks good, TBD
Nick Martin (pick 75) - TBD
Upton Stout (pick 100) - looks good, TBD
C.J. West (pick 113) - looks good, TBD
Marques Sigle (pick 160) - TBD
2024:
Renardo Green (pick 64) - mixed results
Malik Mustapha (pick 124) - mixed results
Tatum Bethune (pick 251) - decent for a 7th round LB
2023:
Ji'Ayir Brown (pick 87) - less than ideal
Darrell Luter (pick 155) - backup quality
Robert Beal Jr (pick 173) - practice squad level
Dee Winters (pick 216) - up and down
Jalen Graham (pick 255) - practice squad
2022:
Drake Jackson (pick 51) - injured, not on roster
Samuel Womack III (pick 172) - backup, not on roster
Kalia Davis (pick 220) - rotational piece
Tariq Castro-Fields (pick 221) - never made an NFL roster
This is fairly awful. While you can blame lots of things, whether it's the GM, scouting, coaching, etcetera. You have to strongly consider that this massive fall-off in defensive drafting is a part of the snowball effect of having so many different coordinators. And not just because each DC has a different mind, a preferred method of coaching, or things along those lines.
But the fact that a major piece of the organizational brain trust is a rotating door year in and year out.
To continue to talk about Robert Saleh, let's discuss the role he played with the 49ers, specifically once he came back in 2025.
To start, Saleh's energy isn't exactly replicable, and neither is his impact on his players, nor his incredible relationship with a specific few. Just look at the 49ers players comments once he was rehired, and in their postseason pressers when asked on his potential departure. Listen to what Kyle Shanahan said when rehiring Saleh last year, how he talked about the fact that he trusts Saleh to totally own the defensive side of the ball. Saleh's presence on the defense took a massive load of Shanahan's plate as a coach. That's a unique impact. Not to say another DC can't have that impact, but it's built over years and years.
But specifically, let's look at the most recent 49ers draft class. They spent their first 5 selection on defense. Those picks were heavily influenced by Robert Saleh. Saleh's voice matters in the 49ers organization. I have a hard time believing that a guy such as Steve Wilks would be able to walk into John Lynch or Kyle Shanahan's office in his first year as DC and influence them to spend all their meaningful draft capital on reshaping a defense specifically to how he wants it run. That's Saleh's influence. And Saleh got his way, and all of those draftees were Saleh's guys. And Now Robert Saleh is no longer there. The importance of the 49ers finding a long-term defensive coordinator that is not only good at calling plays, but that is useful and influential in the draft process, and is able to stick around to develop the players he wanted drafted, is so monumentally significant.
And on the note of the most recent draft class, I have another question: How involved was Gus Bradley in the draft process? If Bradley had some influence in, or even agreed with, the selections, on top of being an important part of defensive meetings and their development, I would be surprised if he wasn't the next DC. Of course, we can't truly know this unless information. But if there is a coach in the building with over a decade of experience calling defensive plays, that runs the same scheme, and had an impact on your most recent draft class, how is he not your next defensive coordinator? Again, unless Bradley is in a stage of his career where he prefers to take a backseat. But this is rare, and Bradley's too young for that in my opinion. He's only 59, not 69. He has plenty of coaching ahead of him.
The 49ers have quite an important decision to make, that I believe not only impacts this next season, but the following handful of years. Starting last offseason, the 49ers entered a bit of a transitional phase, hence why they used 11 draft picks. They're trying to find the next set of young stars to support the organizations Super Bowls hopes, as their current core ages past their prime. Finding a defensive coordinator who will not only stick around for a bit, but leave a positive footprint while with the 49ers is crucial to the next chapter of the organization.
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